I’m a Genius Idol but my Passive is Sunfish Chapter 78

– A world where love and dreams have stopped

Cold gazes claw at me

Sinking into endless darkness

 

Yooyeon’s part followed. The members surrounding him grabbed his arms and legs, wrapping around his body.

 

Baekya at the edge separated from the group and pulled a hand, and the members scattered weakly.

 

– Becoming warm warmth

The only savior

You are my savior

 

Five layers of a cappella stacked behind Baekya’s voice. The quietly playing accompaniment went mute and a chorus developed only with six members’ harmony followed.

 

Like this, Daehwan’s unconventional song interpretation gave the public a fresh shock.

 

– Murky air

Can’t see an inch ahead

Can’t take a step forward

I am a coldly cooled cadaver

Breathe life into me savior

 

As the chorus part ended, moving to the second verse, Jihan came out to the center. Thick eye makeup and vivid wound on the bridge of nose, disheveled hair.

 

While everyone wore white lenses, one of his eyes was uniquely red. He still retained a sliver of human reason, not yet fully zombified, longing for salvation. This was an addition Daehwan had specifically requested, inserting a rap part that didn’t exist in the original song.

 

Covering the eye that had progressed further into zombification, Jihan staggered toward the edge of the stage.

 

– No one can find me

My existence abandoned deep inside

 

Picking up Jihan’s rap, Cheong surged forward. With him at the center, the members fanned out to either side, busily shifting formations.

 

– Becoming warm warmth

The only savior

You are my savior

 

Chorus of the second verse.

 

This time a capella was laid with Minseong’s vocal as main. Even though it was a considerably high note, Minseong handled the part well. Actually, Minseong’s vocal was equally excellent, just overshadowed by Baekya’s overwhelming volume.

 

Simultaneously with the end of the chorus, Yooyeon and Yulmu’s parts followed.

 

– Ca ca ca cave of my heart

Want to escape

– Stifling ca ca ca cage

Want to run away

 

Two people in more disheveled attire due to intense choreography continued dancing standing back to back. At the suddenly zoomed-in upper body, tremendous cheers were heard from the audience seats.

 

– Ma heart

 

Baekya’s high note section, which would be disappointing if absent from DASE’s stage now. Baekya stopping alone next to fast-moving members belted out an ad-lib. As his brows knit and his nose scrunched on screen, Daehwan smiled in satisfaction.

 

Given the concept, he’d asked Baekya to at least pretend it was hard today—and Baekya was executing that mission perfectly.

 

It was a bit strange that, despite his contorted expression, not a single vein stood out on his neck—but if the sound just came out effortlessly, it couldn’t be helped.

 

– Hill of raging storm

Beyond Utopia

 

Cheong returned to the center, the formation the same as at the beginning. As he sang the final line and bowed his head sorrowfully, the members gathered around him in a circle

 

By the time the accompaniment stopped completely, DASE collapsed weakly on their knees. AIM and DASE’s collaboration stage was a huge success.

 

* * *

 

‘Did it.’

 

Baekya, completely out of breath, braced himself against the floor and frowned.

 

Seemed like his knee gave out sitting too hard at the end….

 

Baekya desperately wanted to lie down on the floor like this.

 

“Get up. Let’s go down.”

 

Minseong took care of the maknaes unable to get up from the floor. The hamster who truly became a zombie now stood up awkwardly.

 

“Uuugh… I feel like I’m gonna die….”

 

“Yeah. You’re not.”

 

Minseong could be oddly firm at the strangest times.

 

Just then a status window appeared before eyes.

 

[<Celebrity of Celebrities (5)> Completed!]

 

It was a quest notification he’d been seeing a lot lately, and the star points piling up from them were pretty decent.

 

The stage was over, and he’d even gotten some unexpected points.

 

Feeling good, Baekya started grinning—only for Minseong to look at him strangely. And then, on top of the existing window, another one popped up.

 

[Event: Caution Stairs]

 

“Huh?”

 

Baekya tilted his head at the type of notification seen for the first time.

 

‘Event? Why the sudden kindness.’

 

When it came to handing out ‘rare’ rewards like some sunfish nonsense, the system never hesitated to be stingy—yet now it was being nosy on a Pacific-Ocean scale. Although the stairs going down the stage were dark, it wasn’t his first time stepping on them, so it felt even more sudden.

 

‘So what am I supposed to about it.’

 

The sunfish scoffed and took a step nonchalantly, when suddenly dozens of translucent windows covered his vision.

 

[Error: Event]

 

Before he could even blink, his view was completely blocked. Baekya missed a step and landed hard on his butt.

 

“Eek!”

 

“Oh my god! Hamster!”

 

Everyone turned back with surprised faces at the member falling ridiculously with one last step remaining.

 

“I-I am fine. Just legs gave out suddenly.”

 

Baekya rubbed his eyes, the windows still obscuring his vision. The tears welled up slightly smeared on his finger.

 

“…Are you crying?”

 

“I’m not crying!”

 

Baekya snapped at Minseong’s flustered voice. His tailbone hurt like hell, but he was too embarrassed to show it. All he could do was swallow the pain.

 

‘This damn system!’

 

What was he supposed to do if it suddenly blocked his vision like that? Baekya, surprised as much as the members, huffed in resentment.

 

“Get up.”

 

Yooyeon extended his hand. The moment their hands touched, the status windows vanished like a mirage.

 

Regaining vision, Baekya looked straight at the members’ faces and smiled awkwardly.

 

“Haha. That was close, huh.”

 

“You think that’s funny? Your legs gave out. I knew you were way too tense.”

 

Taking the opportunity to scold him, Yooyeon pulled Baekya up. But the moment he tried to stand up by giving strength to his legs, he felt pain.

 

“Ah.”

 

Baekya let go of the hand reflexively. At Baekya sitting back down instead of getting up, the expressions of the members watching also hardened instantly.

 

“…Hey, no way, right~”

 

Yulmu forced a smile, a bad feeling creeping in. Meanwhile, Baekya got up on his own and cautiously rotated the wrist on the side that hurt, his face grim.

 

“Ah.”

 

He couldn’t move it. A drop of cold sweat ran down his back.

 

“W-why does this hurt…?”

 

It was an absurd situation where the injured person was walking on eggshells around healthy people.

 

“Hamster! You almost died!”

 

Cheong scolded with a worried face.

 

“…Die?”

 

Baekya was about to snap back—Cheong had been saying ominous stuff like that a lot lately—but he froze. Come to think of it, he remembered reading reviews: dying in a concert accident, dying in a traffic accident, things like that.

 

‘Wait… was this the system trying to assassinate me?’

 

At the belated realization, the sunfish felt chills down his spine. He looked back at the stairs—they were higher than he’d thought. If the status window had popped up just a little earlier, he probably would’ve cracked his forehead open.

 

A very reasonable suspicion formed: maybe this was beginner’s luck, and he’d only gotten off this lightly.

 

‘No but you said ‘Event’!’

 

Doesn’t Event usually imply positive meanings?

 

Fuming at the idea of such a malicious event, another status window appeared, this one announcing a reward.

 

[Event Complete!]

[Event Reward Granted: 0 Star Points]

 

‘Still, at least it gives points… Huh?’

 

0 Star Points?

 

Baekya blinked, then narrowed his eyes to make sure he’d read it correctly.

 

[0 Star Points]

 

He had read it right.

 

So you poison me and then poison me again?!

 

Disguising an assassination attempt as an event wasn’t enough—now it was mocking him with points?

 

The fight between the system aiming to kill and the sunfish struggling to live began.

 

“Ha! Ridiculous.”

 

“Ouch.”

 

“What are you grumbling about like you did something right. Give me that. It’s not broken, is it?”

 

Minseong approached and flicked Baekya’s forehead. Holding the arm, he carefully rotated Baekya’s wrist, examining its condition.

 

“Does it hurt?”

 

“It’s okay. If it’s not broken, it’s fine.”

 

Once he realized how much worse it could’ve been, the throbbing pain seemed to ease. Or maybe it wasn’t that—it was more accurate to say his anger had reached the point where he couldn’t feel the pain anymore.

 

‘0 points? I won’t let you get away with this.’